Daily Security Brief: January 29, 2012

BADGHIS: Three Taliban insurgents and a local police commander were killed in separate incidents, officials said on Sunday.

Another three fighters and four policemen were injured during a joint operation by Afghan National Army and local police in the Panirak area of Balamorghab district of northern Badghis province.

An intelligence officer said on condition of anonymity a local police commander was also killed and two others were wounded as a result of the operation on Saturday night.

“Haji Baz Mohammad, an important local police commander, had been cooperating with police for a year,” said a tribal elder from the area, Haji Amin-ul-Haq.

Separately, two policemen were injured as a result of a Taliban ambush in the Kharwar district of central Logar province. The clash erupted when the policemen were patrolling an area near the district centre, the provincial police chief said.

Brig. Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai added a police vehicle was also damaged during the clash.

The Taliban escaped, but police had launched an investigation into the case, said Col. Mohammad Jan Abid, the Logar crime branch chief.

—Abdul Latif Ayubi & Abdul Maqsud Azizi

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DAIKUNDI: A 12-year-old child was killed and two others were injured in a landmine explosion in the Khadir district of central Daikundi province, an official said on Sunday.  

The incident took place late on Saturday in the Kiti village, where the children were playing football, the administrative head of the district told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Hajji Abdul Qadir Haideri said the explosives had been placed inside a ball. However, he provided no other details about the explosion.

Acting police chief, Col. Asif, confirmed the incident, saying that an investigative team had been sent to the district.

—Syed Ghulam

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KUNDUZ: Unidentified gunmen shot dead one customs employee and kidnapped three others in northern Kunduz province, officials said on Sunday.

The Sher Khan Port customs employees were travelling in car that intercepted by gunmen in the Dasht-i-Abadan area, police spokesman Syed Sarwar Hussaini told Pajhwok Afghan News.

One of the employees was shot dead on the spot and three others were abducted, he said, adding two of the captives had been released. But Syed Farid, the customs department secretary, is yet to be freed.

The police official said the motive behind the abduction was unknown, but they had launched a search for the kidnappers.

A customs official, wishing anonymity, said local warlords had threatened them with dire consequences if their illegal demands were not met. He would not elaborate on the demands.

Amanullah Quraishi, the Imam Sahib district chief, confirmed the existence of illegal armed groups in the area, asking security forces to launch an operation against them.

—Waheedullah

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PARWAN: A fire comprehensively damaged a school building in central Parwan province on Sunday, an official said.  

The incident took place in the Siddiqui High School in the first police district of Charikar, the provincial capital, the police chief told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Doused after three hours of efforts, the blaze was apparently a result of carelessness of school guards, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Akram believed. Police have launched an investigation.

Principal for the female section, Najibullah, said the fire was caused by a stove of guards in a classroom and then engulfed other parts of the building.  Nearly 2,000 boys and girls are studying in the school.

Mayor Khwaja Roohullah Siddiqui estimated the loss at $300,000, saying 12 classrooms, furniture and a laboratory had been gutted.

–Farid Tanha

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